Upstream USA’s statewide initiative Delaware CAN (Contraceptive Access Now) has officially launched following Governor Jack Markell’s groundbreaking State of the State Address in which he boldly declared,
“Helping women achieve their own goals of becoming pregnant only when they want to may be one of the most important things we can do to expand opportunity.”
In the last two weeks we have provided training and technical assistance to 14 health centers – more than we trained in all of 2015. Over the next 14 months we expect to change practice in all the large heath care facilities in the state, approximately 80 sites (publicly funded, hospital based, and private providers), and 43 are already scheduled. We will also be launching a statewide public awareness campaign to educate women about their contraceptive choices and where they can receive excellent care.
Governor Markell speaking at the launch of Delaware CAN
We were pleased to be joined by Governor Markell at our training for Henrietta Johnson Medical Center on Wednesday, February 24th. His visit and leadership received media coverage from across the country, including the Associated Press, NPR, the Hill, Washington Post, NewsWorks, and the Delaware News Journal. The Governor also focused his weekly video address on Delaware CAN, which you can view here.
A special thank you to the members of the Delaware CAN Work Group for their leadership, led by Division of Public Health Director Dr. Karyl Rattay, and members Leah Woodall, MPA; Tina Kuser; Dr. Susan Wilson; Dr. Liz Brown; Dr. Tom Stephens; Dr. Larry Glazerman; Bridget Buckaloo MSN, RN; Aleks Casper; Susan Noyes, MSN, RN; Brenda Pusey, LPN; Frann Anderson; Dr. Ian Baxter; Dr. Garrett Colmorgen; Ephraim Kaba, Heather Baker, BSN, RN; Dr. Krishna White.
Watch a short video of Gov. Markell’s weekly address on Upstream USA and Delaware CAN (Contraceptive Access Now)
We look forward to keeping you updated as Delaware CAN continues to progress. We’re excited about the early feedback: as Dr. Tom Stephens, Chief Medical Officer of Westside Health, the largest Federally Qualified Health Center in Delaware said last week,
“This initiative is frankly one of the most exciting things that I have been involved in since I started in medicine, because of the fact that it truly addresses a problem at its source, empowers those affected, and has such significant ‘downstream’ effects on women, their partners and families, and ultimately society, by allowing women to have children only when they want to.”
